Dawn of a new age
by Th 1998
Summary: This story will be a collection of connected short stories, wich will tell a larger story put together. The story will be split into two general time Frames, the present time, 17 years after the war against Salem is won and the past, mostly set at different periods during the war against Salem.
1. A rose by any other name

Disclaimer: I don't own shit, surprising, ain't it?

**Anyway, this story may have multiple chapters but they are not connected like in a usual story, I don't write such stories, because I plain and simply can't. I like to think that I can make at least passable short stories but I simply do not have the talent to write longer stories.**

**But when I got the idea for this story, still not sure how I got it but hey, details, I realized that just a one-shot would not be enough. Because of that, this Story is actually a collection of one-shots who all belong to the same story but at different times in it. The overall tone might switch a lot during chapters.**

**The first chapter plays 17 years after the war against Salem was won but others also play during the War or at other times and I intend to make those quite a bit darker, including at least two character deaths. That said I do not intend to make this an angsty story, I just like stories about someone slowly becoming a Hero and loss is just part of it and of war of course. Now to address another issue, charas like Jaune will seem Ooc, this is because people grow and change, those chapters that play further in the past will obviously have a differently acting Jaune but the one during the time of the first chapter has a long war after him in which much was lost, obviously, he is not the same person anymore. Right one last thing, as you can see one tag is romance and 3 tagged charas are chicks, so to make it clear from the start, this is not a harem story, tough if you like any of those pairings you can stay for the in the past chapters, makes it kinda obvious which character deaths I mean, doesn't it? Anyway, without further rambling, here is the Story.**

**NOTICE: Holy fuck there was an embarrassing amount of grammar fuck ups in here, it seems that I did not actually recheck this story yet (With a grammar check program I mean, I kind of only started using one after a few of my chapters have been written and that made me overlook quite a bit of stuff). Well, mostly in the beginning notes, the story did not have as many but it had way too many punctuation mistakes where I did not put commas.**

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Jaune looked out of the window, letting his gaze wander over the snow-covered landscape, it looked beautiful, it always did. Sighing he turned his gaze away, down to his scroll and the picture on it. He dreaded the conversation that would follow later.

His son looked like the perfect little Schnee, sometimes he wondered how his younger self would react if he knew how he would end up and with whom, or even better, Weiss. The thought alone was enough to make him chuckle. She would probably faint right on the spot. Actually, he wasn't sure if that was even possible but he trusted her to still manage it somehow.

Still, soon the somber gaze returned. His son should not look like this, the white hair, the blue eyes, they looked so wrong on his face, yet he had done it for some reason Jaune couldn't understand.

Suddenly the door opened and he heard the butler call.

''The young master has returned sir'', with one final sigh he tore his gaze from the scroll.

''I see, you may go now, Edward.'',

''Very well sir.''

Hearing footsteps and the door closing he braced himself for what was to come. He didn't look forward to this conversation but he knew it needed to be done.

While he waited for his son to enter and seat himself opposite to him Jaune compared the boy before him with the picture. There was no trace of the white hair nor blue eyes.

''I have returned from Beacon father, may I ask if mother is here as well?'', His son, Jasper, asked him very respectfully.

Jaune looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

''No, she is currently at a meeting with James, she will be returning in a few hours. Don't worry, she made sure to make at least tomorrow free. After all, we haven't seen you in months, but the meeting today is important.''

Not sure how to bring up the topic of the picture he decided to start with his own time at Beacon. That should make for a good start.

''I still remember my time in Beacon, I was quite the fetching young man you know?''

Jasper started grinning

''Aunt Nora told me you vomited all over the Place.''

This caused Jaune to cough embarrassed while silently cursing his teammate.

''Yes well, motion sickness is a very serious problem that should not be taken lightly.''

The embarrassment quickly turned into seriousness again.

''Jasper, tell me, how well do you fit into Beacon, did you have trouble finding friends?''

He could see Jasper getting nervous, he tried to hide it but Jaune could still see traces of his son's nervousness sipping through.

''No father, my teammates proved to be very valuable people and good friends.''

Without taking his eyes of Jasper Jaune raised his scroll and opened the same picture he had looked at before. It was time to get to the point.

''I am happy to hear that, say, those are you and your team are they not?''

As soon as he saw the picture Jasper's face turned pale and he asked with now obvious panic in his voice.

''Where did you get that picture?''

Jaune just sighed.

''Jasper, you go to Beacon. You know that I am good friends with Ozpin, of course, he would inform me about my own son. Especially if said son is doing something so drastic, but that does not matter now. I just want to know one thing, why?''

Seeing his father's stern gaze, Jasper nervously answered him.

''I am not sure what you are talking about father.''

This was not the answer Jaune wanted to hear and his tone made this clear.

''Do not sell me for stupid Jasper, I ASKED YOU WHY THE HELL YOU HAVE WHITE HAIR AND BLUE EYES IN THIS PICTURE!''.

This was a tone Jaune did not like to use, it reminded him too much of how much he changed, of what had happened to cause these changes. Yet he needed to know why Jasper would act that way.

Taken aback by his father's outburst Jasper lowered his head

''Because that's who I am, am I not, a Schnee.''

Jaune obviously did not like this answer either.

''That does not explain why you feel the need to change your face so you look more like one. I do not like that and neither does Weiss, I can assure you that. And seeing your earlier reaction I am sure you know that as well, so why did you do it?''

At this Jaspers, tone grew bitter.

''Of course, she wouldn't like it, wouldn't want to mistake me for her actual child after all now would she?''

There had been many possible reasons Jaune considered for his son's behavior but never had he imagined it being so severe.

''W-What did you just say?''

Jasper scoffed

''You must have seen it as well father. I can see the looks she gives me when she thinks I am not looking, you know. She may love you and my brother but not me. After all it's not like I am her child anyways.''

At this Jaune stayed silent for a long time until finally gazing back at Jasper, sadness filling his eyes.

''That is not it- Do not interrupt me, please hear me out first''

He added when he saw that Jasper wanted to rebuke his statement. After waiting a moment for a nod from Jasper he continued.

''I need to apologize to you, I never thought you would feel this way but I also need you to know that Weiss does love you.''

At this Jasper could not keep quiet any more, despite his earlier agreement.

''THEN WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS THROW ME THOSE LOOKS, WHY DO YOU NEVER TALK ABOUT MY REAL MOTHER? It's because she does not want to be reminded that I am not hers, that's it isn't it, they were right.''

The last part of his sounds angry outburst concerned Jaune.

''What do you mean with 'they were right'?''

Realizing he had let something slip Jasper looked at the ground until finally starting to mumble as if ashamed.

''Some of the others at Beacon, they say that mother only tolerates me because of you.''

He expected his father to grow angry again but instead, he just looked even more crestfallen.

''I see, looks like I am still a coward after all, like I failed again.''

This surprised Jasper but he did not want to interrupt his father yet again.

Jaune stayed silent for a while again before finally starting to speak again.

''We really should have talked with you about your mother, I should have talked too you about her. It just is not an easy thing to talk about you must understand... no, that is just a bad excuse, we, I, was just trying to push aside something which shouldn't be pushed aside. Tell me, what do you know about her?''

Silver eyes stared into blue as Jasper answered him.

''She went to Beacon together with you, she was made leader off team Rwby, mother became her partner. Her team performed exceptionally and even stopped a terrorist attack on Vale. After the fall off Beacon, she went off the radar for a while and later returned as a Hero in the big war, a legendary warrior who died to kill Salem and end the war.''

Was that really it? To think that he and Weiss kept silent to such a degree...

''Is that truly all you know, did we really never tell you anything? This is just stuff everyone knows, that has nothing to do with who she was, just what she was. A hero, that she was, I can assure you that. More so than me certainly. But that is not what you should see her as, that is not what she would want you to see her as, that is not what I want you to see her as. To you, she should not be some great hero but your mother. She was, how to best describe her, completely and utterly awkward.''

As soon as he heard this his son's eyes widened in surprise.

''She was?''

Now Jaune had to smile. Of course, no official source could show any other side than the hero she became.

''Yeah, the first time I saw her she had literally exploded.''

,,... What?''

Chuckling at the disbelieving stare his son send him he continued.

''Yeah, she managed to blow herself up with a bit of dust, Weiss as well, you can imagine how amused she was with that. I just saw that Ruby was in trouble and wanted to help, not that I knew who she was at that time.''

Hearing this story Jasper asked knowingly.

''You must have impressed her a lot didn't you, arriving to help her like this like some hero.''

He was surprised to see his father blush at this, he almost never blushed.

''That is... not exactly what happened. I might have not made the most impressive figure, not to mention the totally normal but yet embarrassing reaction to those accursed bullheads I showed on the flight.''

Now Jasper was confused.

''But wasn't that just because of your motion sickness, sure, it's embarrassing but it's not like it changes how impressive of a Hunter you were.''

At that, it was Jaune's turn to lower his head in old shame.

''But I wasn't, a Hunter I mean. If you want an impressive Hunter look at your mother. She was at Beacon two years early, she managed to impress Ozpin himself you. I, on the other hand, was decidedly less impressive, I was just a boy who foolishly dreamed to be a hero and faked his way into Beacon. I was not ready, hell I could barely use my sword. I told myself that it was not my fault, that it was my father's fault for refusing to train me but those were pathetic excuses. I could have done so much more, could have trained properly on my own. I was foolish and put my team in danger with that, not that they saw it that way, I was at the very least a good leader they said, we are gonna support you until you catch up, they truly were the best of friends, are the best of friends.''

Jasper had heard many far fetched claims in his life, but at this point, none seemed more ridiculous than just father's self-deprecation.

''But you are a great leader, I read the stories about what you did during the War. And that is not all, there are also all those stories Cardin always tells me about you, not to mention aunt Nora and uncle Ren.''

Jaune smiled a little again at hearing that.

''That was after Beacon fell, when we decided to work together with James, when he took me under his wing. Before that, I was nothing special.''

Now his smile grew bigger and much softer.

''I guess they always saw something special in me, didn't they, I really didn't deserve them. But I wasn't the only one that was different you know, Weiss really was acting like a spoiled rich girl... well, more then she is now. She always became so angry whenever Ruby acted as what she perceived too childish to be fit for a leader and of course when Yang stuck up for Ruby.''

Hearing another name that came up in his search Jasper's curiosity got the better of him once again.

''Father, who is exactly was Yang? I know that she was on mothers team but not much more.''

At this Jaunes smile instantly vanished before it returned, though now it was obviously forced.

''That is a story I may tell you another time. You deserve to know but I cannot say that I like remembering this particular story.''

Despite wanting to share with his son, there were things he felt Jasper should not yet know.

''Let us get back to Ruby and Weiss. Weiss really couldn't deal with Ruby being made leader over her, she didn't like that at all. It was honestly pretty childish how she insisted that she was-''

he changed his voice into a very bad impression of Weiss,

''a much better leader then that dolt.''

Chuckling at the memory he continued

''But in the end, she managed to overcome her pride and accept Ruby as a leader and friend, not that this stopped her from complaining over her. She loves to complain.''

He wanted to continue when he saw his son looking shocked over his shoulder and behind him and started to gulp.

''She is right behind me isn't she?''

''Nope, just messing with you.''

Jasper burst out laughing. This caused Jaune too sigh with relief. Both because his son was smiling and joking again, and also because he would not have to deal with an angry Weiss.

''You almost gave your old man a heart attack.''

Jasper still grinned.

''Sorry just had to do it, your expression was priceless.''

''And here I thought pick on Jaune days were over.''

Jaune grumbled before sighing and picking up their conversation.

''Do you want to hear more stories about our time about Beacon?''

''I would really like to but... you really do not want to talk about the past too much do you?''

Jasper asked his father carefully.

At his son's question Jaune gave another sigh.

''It's not that I do not want to tell you those stories, most of them are fond memories, it just brings up other memories I would rather forget.''

''Then let us stop for today. You already told me enough.''

Jaune carefully watched his Son.

''Are you sure you do not want to hear more?''

''Of course, I want to hear more...but I also do not want to force you to when it hurts you that much. Just tell me, why does Mother sometimes give me those looks, if she and my birth mother where friends then why does she look at me with such sad eyes?''

Suddenly he felt a soft pair of arms lay themself around him and he heard a gentle voice.

''Oh Jasper, I did not think that you would be so concerned about that, can't you understand? Ruby was my best friend, my partner, she helped me become a better person. When I look at you, when I look at your eyes I can't help but remember her, who she was to us all, who she was to me. But that does not mean that I do not love you. Ruby was the best friend I ever had, I helped to raise you when you were just a baby and when you were still a small child I became your mother, how could I not love you?''

Shocked to suddenly hear his Mothers words Jasper didn't know too react until he finally muttered a soft, ''I am sorry.''

At this Jaune laid his hand on his son's head.

''Don't be, it was our fault. We should have talked with your much sooner about this stuff, then you wouldn't have to have such thoughts.''

Following this they stayed like this until the silence became awkward, Jaune finally decided to break it.

''Didn't you say that the meeting with James would take until the evening.''

Hearing his words Weiss let go of Jasper and sat herself down beside her Husband, leaning her head on his shoulder.

''We managed to reach an agreement much easier than anticipated.''

At this Jaune grew interested,

''Does that mean...?''

With a small smile, Weiss answered,

''Yes, project **Schnee**sturm will go into production next wee... why are you looking at me like that?''

,,... Was that supposed to be a pun?'' Jaune asked astonished and slightly scared.

''I can make jokes to you know, pretty impressive isn't it?'' Weiss huffed

''Wow, look at the time, you know what, I am gonna make us some dinner right now, why don't you talk to your mother while I do that?'' and with those words Jaune stood up and walked, he totally didn't run, honestly, into the kitchen leaving Weiss to stare at Jasper who just tried to look away innocently, he failed.

''You know what, why don't I help father, just sit there and relax until we are done.'' And with that he ran, I mean, walked at greatly accelerated speed, after his father.

Weiss just looked after them before crossing her arms in front of her chest,

''I know I am funny, isn't that right Edward?''

The butler who had just entered the room to ask if any refreshment were required just smiled gently

''Why don't I see if the masters need any help making dinner, after all this is my job. I better hurry"

And with that, he was gone as well.

''OH COME ON, I AM FUNNY!''

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**Anyways, that is the first chapter of this story of mine. Just a heads up, the Son will obviously still play a role after this but I do not want to make a story based on Oc's. I am not really a huge fan of them either but this one had to be. As I said some characters may come over as **ooc** but I really hope that over the course of the next chapters I can show that they are still the same characters, just changed, some more and some less. I also hope that the past chapters will give an explanation for what happened to make these changes occur.**

**My Beta is Murphy Sl4w**


	2. The meeting

**Meeting**

**For anyone annoyed that the last chapter had so much Focus on an Oc, you can be assured that this chapter does not include a single Oc. I just want to make clear that I am not planning on making Oc's the main focus of this story or anything but I did decide to do a story that plays partly when they are adults already, so I needed to create at least a few Oc's.**

**On the subject of the time this chapter plays. It plays 2 months after the first chapter.**

**Notice: Minor grammar mistakes have been fixed.**

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The moment he entered the room and saw who was in it he knew that this was going to be one of those meetings, so much for getting home early. He could feel Weiss stiffen next to him and knew exactly what was going to come.

''Why is that thing here?''

It always impressed Jaune how much contempt she could convey with a single question, must be a family thing, he was just happy it wasn't directed at him anymore.

''Glad seeing you again as well, nice to see that the junior division arrived, ice queen junior, tinman junior.''

He could see Weisse's right Eye twitch dangerously

''I assure you; our Schnee products are the best the market has to offer and certainly not 'Tin'.''

But Qrow only chuckled

''Relax Ice Queen junior; I am just pulling your leg, eh?''

Jaune chuckled silently and took a look at the rest of the inhabitants of the room, most of them reacted less unamused then he had.

James and Ciel simply looked unimpressed, Penny was confused and Ozpin just took another swig from his cup.

Turning his head to the other side of the room he saw Cardin looking down in guilt. How often had he told him to stop blaming himself? Ren took one careful look at Jaune's leg, which he answered with a small reassuring smile, before returning to try and restrain Nora who fell to the ground laughing.

He turned back to Weiss, getting ready to restrain her if necessary, which seemed more likely with every second, if her increasingly angry expression was any indication. Winter just sighed and gave Qrow a shove before looking apologetic at Jaune.

Qrow was not to be deterred, however.

''Oh relax Winy, he doesn't mind, does he?''

And with that, he looked at Jaune in question. He just shook his head good-natured. He really didn't and if this wasn't such an important meeting he would probably make a joke himself, maybe James could give him an arm with that. He silently chuckled about his own joke before returning his attention to the situation at hand. It seemed that Weiss was still not happy with how Qrow had acted.

''This is an important meeting for the future of Atlas and all of Remnant and not only are you drunk, again, but you crack stupid jokes like this. Also, you may have noticed that I am a grown woman, so it would be nice if you could at least stop the junior stuff.''

Yeah, Qrow definitely wasn't going to let things end that way Jaune decided and so he slowly moved his hand closer to Weisse's shoulder to hold her back if needed.

Qrow might be a drunk asshole, but he figured that he should at least try to keep him out of trouble, also he found him funny. Probably better to keep quiet about that now though.

''You sure about that ice queen junior?''

Qrow asked smirking, being sure to empathize the junior and at the same time suggestively wiggling his Eyebrow at her. This confused Jaune and so he followed Qrows gaze, landing on Weisses Ches... nope, no way, Qrow was on his own now.

''What are you talking about you drunk old M... OH THAT'S IT, I AM GONNA RIP OUT YOUR FUCKING THROAT BRANWEN.''

But Qrow just continued to smirk while turning his gaze to Jaune.

''Feisty, isn't she? I wonder, does that also apply to the Bedroom or did you manage to tam...''

That was all he was able to get out before Weisse's rapier shot towards his head, forcing him to quickly dodge to the side, the grin still on his face.

''So, can I take that as your answer then?''

Jaune saw that at this Winter started to reach down to her waist as well and got ready to intervene and stop the whole thing before things went too far when someone beat him to it.

''THAT IS ENOUGH OUT OF ALL OF YOU, QROW, YOU STOP WITH YOUR BEHAVIOUR RIGHT NOW AND YOU STOP TRYING TO STAB HIM WEISS! AND TAKE YOUR HAND AWAY FROM YOUR WEAPON WINTER, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE ABOUT TO DO!''

This quieted everyone down, no one wanted James to get mad, not even Qrow, probably. Reluctantly Weiss returned to Jaune's side and they sat down.

James took one moment to calm down before starting to speak again.

''I would like to discuss the topic we all came together for today, now that we are all here and civilized.''

James shot a sharp look at the perpetrators, Weiss and Winter looked down ashamed, Qrow just took another swig from his flask while showing James the finger, well, at least he was happy.

''Ugh, I really wonder why I still put up with you Branwen.''

At this Qrow, still smirking, turned his face towards James and asked in an obviously fake hurt voice.

''Don't you find me pretty anymore Jamy? It's Jaune isn't it, I always thought that you looked at him a bit too often.''

James just groaned and put his head into his hand. At his side, Weiss shot Ironwood a suspicious look.

''Anyways, present man-children aside, today we have gathered together for the probably most important operation since the Great war.''

At this, everyone's gaze became serious, even Qrow and Nora looked somewhat serious for once.

''Jaune, if you would do the Honours.''

This caused Jaune to get a bit nervous; he had done this many times before but it was never about something as important as today. He was about to stand up when he suddenly felt Weisse's hand on his shoulder and turned to face her, seeing the small smile on her lips.

''Stop worrying, we talked about this before, it's a good plan, we are ready for it, everything will go fine.''

With that, she gave him a quick kiss and let go of him.

Jaune smiled while standing up, she was right, they were ready for it, everything was going to be fine, they were going to...

''Awwww, how adorable, so the ice queen has a heart after all.''

''You want to have a second round Branwen? I swear I am not going to miss this time.''

...all die, probably before it even started.

Jaune looked at James, he seemed to have given up trying to restraint those two. This was it he coughed to get the attention of the room. Amazingly enough, he only needed to repeat this action four times before he had finally achieved his goal.

''We all know why we are here today.''

Of course, Qrow had to mouth off again.

''To help the ice queen junior become a real girl?''

Jaune did his best to suppress a smirk, on one hand, he found it amusing, on the other hand he knew that Weiss didn't. Then he wondered if he cared about her getting mad, he knew that she would not actually be mad at him for something like that and had to admit that she looked cute when annoyed. He noticed James look at him with a raised eyebrow. He should be getting back to the topic at hand.

''ANYWAYS, as I was saying, we know why we are here today, the final push to erase the last traces of Grimm from this country. We worked on this for over a decade and it is finally time for one last push.

Over the years we managed to clean most of Atlas off all Grimm activity and establish many settlements in what was once Grimmland. All that is left is their nest so to speak. We managed to locate the Source of most Grimm activities in Atlas and our surveillance revealed something shocking.

We assumed that the Grim in Atlas were spawning from an ancient Grimm but when we killed the first one 5 Years ago and the Grimm population still continued to be replaced at a surprising rate we became suspicious. As it turns out the Grimm have a Pool they spawn from deep under the earth.''

Many were shocked at hearing that information.

''But Jaune, didn't Salem have the only Pool?''

Jaune turned his gaze to Cardin and answered.

''That is what we thought but as it turns out, there exist others as well, they are smaller in size and can only spawn fairly small Grimm like Beowolfs but they are a big threat none the less, especially because it is being guarded by an ancient Grim, maybe even two.

We came to the conclusion that at least one of these Pools can be found on every major continent and that they just were never found before because they were so far under the earth in the heart of the Grimm controlled territory.

Now it was Rens's turn to speak up.

''That sounds like a lot of unexpected danger, why am I not surprised?''

At this Jaune had to grin.

''When have we ever had it easy?''

Nora being, well Nora, seemed wholly unconcerned.

''Pah, they are nothing before Magnhild and me, we shall smash them all single-handedly, isn't that right Fearless leader?''

Now Jaune actually laughed, things may have changed but Nora was still Nora.

''As always I appreciate your enthusiasm but I doubt that it will come to that. The plan is to use the whole might of Atlas military too lead a decisive attack against the Place and destroy the Pool alongside the ancient Grimm guarding it, freeing Atlas from the last remaining Grim.''

Now Cardin spoke up again.

''Not that I do not trust you, you know I would follow you anywhere but what makes you so confident we will be able to destroy them that easily. Atlas military is strong but we shouldn't underestimate that Place, we may be able to deal with normal Grimm but ancient Grimm are always dangerous and depending on their number they may be able to overwhelm our Ships.''

At this Weiss spoke up, obviously eager to share what she knew.

''I am glad that you ask this question, Cardin. I believe that I can give you a more than satisfying answer to answer, can I Jaune?''

She asked while looking at where he was standing right now.

''Yes, you know about this part better then me and I have said what I need to. The stage is all your snow angel.''

While going to sit back down again he saw Qrow smirking at seeing the small blush that showed up on Weisses face, Jaune knew that Qrow wouldn't let go of that so easily. After seating himself again he returned his attention to Weiss who was about, to begin with her Speech.

She carefully connected her scroll to the projector in the room and opened the data she needed. What appeared on the wall shocked most of those that had not already known about it. Jaune could practically feel how proud Weiss was, she deserved to be in his opinion.

''Behold the newest Invention of Schnee technologies, the peak of human engineering, with this the Grimm will have no more chance to withstand our Assault.''

Silence filled the room as everyone slowly took in what they were seeing, even Jaune couldn't help but be astonished once again, despite already having seen it before. In the end, it was Qrow who to no one's surprise broke the silence by giving an impressed whistle.

''Well damn, color me impressed.''

And for once everyone in the room agreed with the old drunk.

After a few moments to allow everyone to calm down James started to speak again, his face changed into a triumphant grin.

''This, my ladies and gentleman, is our key to finally drive out those foul beast from our lands. It won't be just Atlas that we purge, after Atlas, we will free Mistral and Vale of those beasts and reclaim Vacuo. We will drive even the last of these creatures out of our lands and we will create a world in which future generation will never have to worry about Grimm again.''

The general's words caused everyone to gain a determined look, that is what they had fought for so long, it was finally going to come true. Jaune only allowed the tiniest bit of sadness to enter his voice when he looked up and softly spoke.

''Don't worry, we will make sure that no one has to end up like you ever again.''

With that, he turned his gaze back to Weiss and the Picture projected at the wall, a small smile on his lips

''Yes, with this the Grimm truly won't stand a chance.''

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**Now, before anyone starts to get angry about me not actually telling what Weiss has shown everyone, I will describe it... when I come around to writing the chapter that is dealing with the actual assault this chapter spoke about.**

**But this is a collection of short stories playing at different times during the same story, so that story will probably only come in a few chapters.**

**I found describing it just more fitting when it actually appeared.**

**I am not a fan of cliffhangers tough, so if anyone wants to know what exactly it is that Weiss showed just Pm me and I will tell you. That applies to any other questions as well. I know that I have brought up many questions in both chapters as of now and if anyone does not want to wait until the actual chapters that deal with it are released to get an answer I can completely understand that and will be happy to answer any questions. I am also open **for** suggestions.**

**This chapter has not been beta read yet.**


	3. The reality of war

**I should probably warn you, this is a pretty dark chapter in this ff. Well actually, it is not all that dark but a friend told me that I probably overdid it a bit with the dead love interest stuff, so if you take everything together it becomes quite dark, I mean, 3 dead love interests are a lot.**

**So I thought I should explain my reasons for that. For the idea I had, I needed two dead love interests but seeing how I want stuff to stay the same until after the fall of beacon for this story one dead love interest was already there from the start, so I couldn't really use Pyrrha. The other reason is that I kinda need Yang to be the one to die because of reason you may notice during the chapter, so I assure you that this whole thing is not just meant to cause Jaune pain because of reasons(I want to point that out because many authors seem to have their characters suffer hard without any real reason for it).**

**Now, some may wonder, why not just make her just a friend like she is in canon, after all a dead friend sucks as well. I thought about that for a bit but in the end, I decided that the scenario I did have in mind for that just didn't have the punch behind it I want so I quickly gave up on this idea.**

**Notice: small mistakes in grammar and such have been fixed.**

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Jaune and Weiss looked concerned at Jasper, when he asked them if he could ask them a question, Jaune had to chuckle at that thought, he had looked very nervous. He really hoped that it would be nothing to bad. He looked over at Weiss who just shrugged with her shoulders. In the end, he turned back to his son and waited for him to ask his question.

Jasper stayed silent for a while, as if he was not sure if he should really ask before he finally came out with it.

''Father, do you remember the talk we had last week?''

This did not help put his mind at ease at all but he still answered calmly

''The one about my time at Beacon?''

His son nodded, before continuing with his question.

''I know that those stories bring up painful memories for you, for both of you but I wanted to know if you could maybe tell me a bit more?''

Jaune mentally relaxed, true, he did not like to bring up those memories but he feared that his son had another problem that needed to be addressed, he glanced a Weiss, who nodded at him before turning back to his son.

''Well, I guess I did promise you some of those stories, what do you want to know?''

Jasper thought for a bit before finally deciding on a question.

''When we were talking about Mothers team you mentioned someone named Yang, who exactly was she?''

Hearing his Sons question Jaune closed his eyes, this was not a story he would enjoy telling. Jasper noticed his father's extreme reaction.

''I mean, you do not have to if you do not feel like it.''

But Jaune had made his decision.

''Yes, I have to, you should know about her. Yang, she was, well, she was your aunt.''

That was not what Jasper had expected to hear.

''My aunt, did I never meet her because she does not want to be remembered of mother's death or is she...? he let the question hang in the air.

''Dead, she died years before you were born.''

The bitterness with which his father said those worse shocked Jasper, he carefully asked.

''How did she die?''

Jaune was about to answer when Weiss interrupted him.

''Jaune, you do not need to talk about that, I can do it, I know what happened, you do not need to do that to yourself.''

Jaune just shook his head.

''Yes I do, I can't just run from the past because it suits me after all. Also, even you only know part of the story. Let me think for a bit, how to best start, well, I guess it all started a while after we had joined up with James when...''

Flashback:

Jaune, Ren and Nora had just finished eating after their daily training, Jaune once again being reminded of the difference in skill that still existed between them, when they meet team Rwby lead by Qrow, all geared up. This woke Jaune's interest, he didn't remember a mission being scheduled.

''What is up, do you guys have a mission?''

Qrow looked over to him, Jaune flinched back slightly, he had always felt uncomfortable under the gaze of the older Hunter. Qrow proceeded to take a swig from his flask, how much did he have in that thing anyways, before finally answering Jaunes question.

''Jup, the tin man got fresh information about a White Fang hideout, we are gonna bust them.''

Jaune couldn't understand how the older huntsman got away with being so disrespectful to General Ironwood in his own base but didn't really have time to ponder about it because Ruby started speaking.

''Hehe, they won't know what hit them, we are gonna kick their assess and make sure they are locked up for all they did.''

Qrow looked skeptically at her.

''Look, I am the last person that should warn you about recklessness but you shouldn't take them too easily, the White Fang are not just some small-time criminals... they are also not criminals with which we can allow ourself to hold back enough to take them all alive.''

At this Ruby looked down a bit and answered her uncle in a slightly sad voice.

''I know that, I just want to prevent as many people from dying as I can you know? I am sure many of them are just like Blake, good people that are just mislead.''

Hearing that Blake looked surprised but happy with what Ruby had said and thanked her softly. This made Ruby look completely happy again. Qrow still did not look entirely happy, then again Jaune had never seen the man look entirely happy.

''I am not trying to put you down, I just want to make sure you understand what we are going into.''

At this Weiss raised her voice.

''Of course, we know what we are getting into, we will make sure that these criminals won't ever hurt anyone again.''

Yang gave her opinion as well, hanging her arm around Ruby's shoulder and grinning confidently.

''Yeah uncle Qrow, don't worry your old bones about us, just make sure to not fall too much behind.''

At this Qrow just shook in resignation complaining about ''cheeky brats'' before addressing the entire team again.

''Well then, it seems like this 'old' Huntsman has to show you youngsters how it's done, come on, let's kick some White Fang butt.''

But while most of them turned to leave, Yang send a glance over to their team. Jaune could have sworn she was looking at him but nah, that couldn't be, could it?

''You know what, you guys go on. I am coming later, I first want to say goodbye.''

At this Qrow suddenly send a sharp glance at Jaune that made him gulp in fear, he couldn't remember having done anything wrong, before looking over at Yang's determined expression. After a few seconds he just sighed and began to leave, Weiss and Blake turned to follow him but Ruby stayed.

''Good idea, I want to say goodbye as well.''

Hearing this Qrow snorted before grabbing her by her cape and dragging her along.

''Come on shorty, let Yang say 'goodbye' in peace.''

Ruby just looked at him confused while being dragged away.

''But I just wanted to do that as well, Jaunes my friend as well, hey, why are you smirking? Don't ignore me, tell me what is going on uncle Qrow.''

The last thing Jaune heard of them was Weiss telling Ruby that she was still a dunce, he wondered why.

Nora just looked with beaming eyes between him and Yang, which honestly scared Jaune, an excited Nora was never a good thing. Yang just stared at her and Ren with pointed eyes, until Ren finally took Nora's arm and started dragging her away, though he had a decidedly harder job then Qrow.

''Come on Ren, I have to see it, don't you want to see our fearless leaders big romantic moment?''

''That does not matter, the point is that this is not something we should spy on.''

Nora grinned

''So you do want to see it.''

Ren just facepalmed and dragged her around a corner, wait, what had she meant, big romantic moment?

Jaune had no clue what the hell Nora had been talking about, Yang just wanted to say goodbye after all, probably. He turned to Yang.

''So, why did everyone go away when you just wanted to say goodbye?''

Yang looked at him astonished for a few seconds before starting to laugh loud out loud, okay, now he was sure that he was missing something. This worried Jaune, had he gotten food on his clothes? After a few seconds Yang finally managed to calm down before once again putting on a more serious expression and looking him in the eyes.

''I did not stay to say goodbye, I wanted to speak with you about something.''

The serious expression she had on her face worried Jaune, had he done something to offend her?

''Ehm, your hair looks very good?''

This caused Yang to grin

''You are not in trouble Jaune, the complete opposite actually but the compliment is appreciated none the less.''

Now Jaune truly had no clue what was going on anymore. Yang looked at him for a few more seconds and gulped nervously before finally speaking up again, okay, whatever it was it had to be big, Yang never was nervous.

''I wanted to talk with you because I wanted to make sure I would have nothing to regret, you know, in case something happens.''

Jaune didn't like how she said that.

''What do you mean by that, is there more to the mission then what Qrow told us?''

Seeing his concerned expression Yang understood and quickly reassured him

''No, no, no, not like that. It's just, with all that has been happening life seems a lot more fragile you know what I mean? And now when I think about that mission I just feel strange, what if I won't make it back someday? I just wanted to make sure that I said what I wanted to say. To tell you what I feel.''

Jaune became confused

''But why me, not that I have any problems listening to your feelings but wouldn't you be better of telling them to Ruby or Qrow?''

To his astonishment his words actually caused Yang to blush and look down a bit and quickly mumble

''Not really, it kinda has to be you.''

For some reason this sight caused Jaune to become very nervous, gods, had his heart always beat that loudly? He just continued to stare at Yang until she looked up again, her gaze filled with determination.

''What I mean is that I have fallen in love with you, you idiot.''

Jaune just stared at Yang reactionless, no, he had to have misheard her, she couldn't have said that, he was still dreaming, in a few seconds Nora would shake him awake demanding them to get food, that must be it. But Yang's nervous words ripped him out of his thoughts, her eyes were shooting him nervous looks.

''Why aren't you saying anything? Please Jaune, at least say something.''

Jaune could only shake his head.

''That can't be true.''

Yang continued, her head lowered

''I know I am not Pyrrah and I am not trying to replace her, I just want to be something to you.''

Jaune finally decided that he was definitely not dreaming and could only ask a single question

''Why me?''

Yang now looked him in the eyes again, clearly confused

''Why not?''

Now it was Jaunes turn to be confused, wasn't that clear?

''I am not like guys, I am not a real huntsman, I am just some guy who lied his way into Beacon and got lucky enough to be dragged along by far better persons than himself. I am just a coward who thought he could be a hero.''

This caused Yang to look at him in sudden understand before suddenly smiling gently

''You shouldn't make yourself down that much. I mean yeah, you kinda sucked when you came to Beacon, like seriously sucked but does it really matter now?''

Of course it did, he just dragged them all down, when he opened his mouth to tell Yang as much she interrupted him

''So what if you didn't know how to fight, you learned, didn't you? Sure, you are still not as good as us but you get better every day. I have certainly seen worse, I mean, have you ever seen Dove fight? I can assure you that your fighting ability is more than passable by now. Just like I can assure you that you are not a coward, have you ever looked back at what you have done, what you are doing? We are fighting a War Jaune, a war against monsters trying to destroy everything that humanity has built for itself, monsters we have no real plan to stop. And yet here you are, fighting. How could such a person possibly be a coward?''

This caused him to look down ashamed, she thought too highly of him, he opened his mouth and saw Yang about to interrupt him again.

''No Yang, I must say this. You think too highly of me, I am not fighting for some noble reason, all I wish is to leave this war behind and be somewhere safe, away from all this pain and death. I fight because I do not want my Sisters to die, my parents, you guys, it's selfish. And that is not all that drives me, I want revenge, revenge against those that have taken my partner from me, that have taken our friend from us, revenge for Pyrrha. Those are hardly the most heroic goals.''

Yang clearly did not agree with him.

''What, that is what concerns you? That you just fight to keep your loved ones safe? That you want revenge against those that have taken them from you? What about any of that is bad you need to feel ashamed for it? You fight because you care for those important to you too much not to, it's admirable.''

He didn't know why but he found it very easy to believe every word of her. Still, he had to know.

''But even so, why me?''

Yang now looked him in the eyes again

''Well, you certainly did not make the best first impression. ''

Jaune groaned, did she have to remind him of that?

''Oh relax, I am just Yanging your chain.''

He couldn't help but snort at that, this seemed to make Yang happy.

''I know, it's brilliant, right? Still, that doesn't answer your question, does it?''

Right, he kinda lost track there.

''No, it really doesn't.''

''You really want a pretty lady praising you, don't you? Well, luckily for you I came Xiao Long.

Okay, now she was the one who was losing track of what was going on.

''Yang, Please.''

She was looking down, a blush on her face, and Jaune couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked.

''I know that this isn't really the time for jokes, I am just not sure how to say it. I mean, how do you say something like that? Dad never told me and I sure as hell won't ask Qrow for help. And my mother is well, you know. I am not sure when it started but I started looking at you differently. I just like the way you act, the way you smile and even your cheesy lines. When I am spending time with you I just feel happy, warm, content. It feels like I want to stay like this forever, together with you.''

Silently mumbling she added.

''It also helps that you look very easy on the eye.''

By now Yang's entire face was red and he was sure that he wasn't faring any better himself. But despite her obvious embarrassment, she continued with her confession.

''Don't worry about me, I did not just make this decision on the fly you know, confessing I mean. I first wanted to be sure of my feelings. I did not want to say anything before I was sure that I would mean it. These feelings are not just some passing fancy of mine, I am not that kind of person, I know how hard it is to be left by people, so I do not want to do that to others. I know that you probably are not sure how to answer me just yet but please give me a chance.''

She closed the distance between them and placed a soft kiss on his lip.

Jaune did not know how to react to that.

''Yang, I-''

''Shhh, don't worry about it, just give me your answer when I come back from the mission.''

And with that, she left to join on her team but not before shooting him the brightest smile he had ever seen on her. He laid his hand on his breast, his heart had just skipped a beat.

He didn't know how long he had been walking around the base, thinking about what had just happened.

Did he like Yang like she did him?

He had never really thought about it but the words Yang spoken touched his heart, they made him feel warm, content, it felt nice.

Suddenly Pyrrahs face flashed in his mind and he felt guilty for those feelings. Is that really what she would have wanted though, that he would feel guilty for developing feelings for another girl?

Of course not, his mind knew that but his heart was another matter. He did not know how long he was wandering around until he suddenly bumped into someone and lost his balance, falling onto his butt. He quickly started to apologize.

''I am so sorry, I was not looking where I was... Ren?''

He looked up to see who he had run into and was surprised to look into the face of his teammate and best friend, Lie Ren. Ren just smiled and reached out his hand to pull Jaune up, he gladly took it.

''Do you want to talk about it?''

Jaune was not sure how Ren had known that he needed to talk but he was grateful for his friend. He started to explain what happened and how it made him feel. After he was finished Ren just thought for a few seconds before speaking up.

''I understand where your reluctance comes from, you feel like you are betraying Pyrrah and are not sure what exactly your feelings for Yang are. All I can tell you about Pyyrah is what you already know, she would just want you to be happy. But you have problems to completely accept that. With the other part I can be more helpful I think. Those feelings you describe sound a lot like you like her. I am not saying that you have fallen in love with her but feelings clearly exist, act upon them. I am sure if you give Yang a chance and spend more time with her your feelings will grow, just as hers will, together. You should not throw away this chance of happiness because you felt unsure, grab the chance and make the best out of it.''

Jaune thought about Ren's words for what felt like forever before speaking up again.

''I have made my decision, as soon as Yang comes back from her mission I will take her out on a date, or the closest thing to it I can put together in this Place.''

Ren smiled at him but Jaune was not finished yet

''But I have one condition.''

''Condition?''

Asked his best friend confused.

''Yes. Your words really helped me, without them I made have made a mistake I would forever regret, so now I am going to do the same. Go and talk with Nora, don't throw away this chance of happiness because you felt unsure, grab the chance and make the best out of it.''

Ren just stared at him shocked for almost a minute before he finally responded with a small blush, it was the first time Jaune had seen his friend blush like that.

''I will... and Jaune, thank you.''

Jaune just smiled back

''Always my friend.''

But Ren just shook his head

''No, not friend, Brother.'' and with that, he gave Jaune a long hug before letting go and turning towards their quarters, he had a confession to make.

Flashback end

Seeing that his father had grown silent Jasper finally opened his mouth again, choosing his words carefully.

''I am not sure what to make of your story father, I mean, don't get me wrong, I really want to know what happened but why are you talking about this? All I know is that Yang was my aunt and that there apparently was something between you but why are you telling me about that, especially with you know...''

He didn't finish his sentence but from the way he was looking at Weiss, Jaune knew exactly what he meant. Before he could explain himself she opened her mouth.

''I know what you want to say but do not worry about me. it's not like I didn't know what was going on between them. Yes, hearing everything so directly may cause the slightest bit of jealousy but I knew that beforehand. Also more important then a bit of jealousy is hearing how happy she had been in the end, she was my friend as well after all.''

Jasper noticed her wording.

''In the end? Did the mission fail?''

Jaune closed his eyes for a moment before speaking up again.

''Sadly yes, that is the reason I have been telling you all of this. After I had made my decision to accept her feelings I was slowly getting impatient, I was so nervous about meeting her again when suddenly...''

Flashback start

He was currently getting interrogated by Nora, who was now together with Ren, as in, together together, her words, not his, about his talk with Yang when Jaune suddenly received a call on his scroll. The caller was identified as general Ironwood himself, quickly he picked up.

''What can I do for you, sir?''

''There has been an emergency, team Rwby has run into trouble, Adam Taurus was at the location, we walked right into a trap. They need reinforcements and they need them quick. Get your team to hangar 7, I have already given orders to prepare ten bullheads for liftoff. For this mission, you will take command of the troops, do everything to get team Rwby and Qrow out of there.''

Panic began to fill Jaune but he knew he had to stay calm, his friend's lives may rely on it, quickly he replied to the general.

''I understand sir, we will make haste at once, I swear I will do everything to make sure they are saved.''

''I know that you will mister arc. I will send all the information we have to your scroll. Good luck, you will need it.''

And with those words, he ended the call. Jaune didn't have to explain the situation to his teammates, they had listened in. They made their way to the hangar in record time and arrived just as the last Bullhead was finishing its preparations. As soon as he saw them a soldier walked over to them.

''Follow me sir, I will take you to your bullhead.''

Jaune nodded thankfully at him and they followed the soldier into the rightmost Bullhead. In it were already 3 more soldiers who saluted him as soon as they saw him. He heard the Soldier that had escorted them call the Pilot.

''They are in, bring us in the air.''

And with that, they were in the air and Jaune desperately tried to suppress the nausea that was building in him, he couldn't allow himself to be distracted now. He turned his head to the cockpit.

''How long until we reach our destination?''

''About 2 hours sir.''

Good, that should be enough time and quickly he pulled up the information they had about the situation on his scroll, the files had been sent to him right after Ironwood's call. Ren and Nora used the remaining time to get a bit of rest but he couldn't afford to. Around 90 minutes later he finally looked up from his scroll again and walked towards the pilot, he needed to give his instructions to the Soldiers.

''Can you patch me through to all Bullheads?''

''Of course sir, only a moment... and you are on''

Jaune took one moment to steady himself, he needed to appear strong now, the soldiers trusted him to make sure they would come back alive, he couldn't show weakness.

''Attention all Soldiers, here speaks Jaune Arc, commander of this operation. We will reach the distress call location in approximately 30 minutes. We cannot expect to find a safe landing position so we will go in hot. The bullheads carrying robots will go in first and drop them into the middle of the enemy formation, then our bullhead and the two carrying Paladins will follow. My team and the Paladins are able to jump out of the Bullhead without requiring it to land first. After that, we will try to secure a provisional landing zone in which the rest of the troops can be landed. As soon as a Bullhead is finished unloading its soldiers it is to provide cover fire for the rest of us. We do not expect the White Fang to have any real anti-air weapons but if this should turn out to be wrong the Bullheads are to retreat out of range until the ground forces are able to take them out. We have information that terrorist leader Adam Taurus himself is leading the White Fang troops but our first priority is to save team Rwby and Qrow. Locate them and provide them with medical attention if necessary. This is all, I wish every single one of you the best of luck and that we may all return alive.''

Jaune let out a relieved sigh, he hoped he had done well enough. He needed to mentally prepare himself for what was to come. This would not be pretty, war never was but he still disliked the killing.

But he couldn't worry about that now, it would only cost the lives of the man he was now responsible for. Furthermore, team Rwby would surely need quick help, what if they were already... no, he couldn't think like that, they were going to be fine, they were just in a bit of a bad situation.

The last minutes it took to reach their destination felt like forever, Jaune now understood why the soldiers said that the waiting was always the worst part. Suddenly the pilot spoke up again.

''We are almost there sir, get ready.''

With a nod to the Pilot Jaune stood up and moved to the rear of the Bullhead, he knew that Nora and Ren were just behind him. Nervously he stepped from one foot to the other until he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and the nervousness just disappeared. He turned his head to the side right and gave Ren a thankful smile, he had needed that.

Looking to his left he could Nora give him a thumbs up and he nodded to her thankfully when suddenly the rear opened, it was time.

Looking down he could see the ground about 10 Metres below them and took out his sword before jumping down. When he had almost reached the ground he rammed Crocea into a tree stopping his fall abruptly, he would feel that in his arms for some time.

But he had no time to worry about that and so he quickly pulled out the sword and let himself fall the to the ground, right behind two White Fang soldiers that had been too busy shooting at the already deployed robots to notice Jaune before now.

At the sound of Jaune hitting the ground, the soldiers quickly turned around to shoot at the new threat. But Jaune was already one them and quickly he used his shield to knock out the first Soldier while swiping his Blade at the other one, cleanly cutting off his head.

He had no time to feel bad about that and so he quickly moved towards the center of the base, an old abandoned military facility. Suddenly he noticed about half a dozen White Fang soldiers getting ready to shot at him. Before they could do so however most of them were crushed by a Paladin dropping down from the sky. It quickly grabbed the last remaining White Fang soldier, the voice of its pilot distorted by the machine.

**''I have come to destroy you.''**

Everywhere he was looking Jaune could see White Fang soldiers fighting against Atlas troops, quickly being overwhelmed by their sudden attack. While this was good, the fact that they faced so much resistance in the first place was a bad sign, either they had begun to regroup to make sure team Rwby couldn't get reinforcements or they had already... he didn't even want to think about that option.

Entering the base with Ren, Nora and half a dozen Soldiers by his side, the rest were securing the outside, Jaune made his way deeper into the base. What they found was an empty base, the White Fang nowhere to be seen aside from a few corpses they came across. Ren raised his voice.

''Adam probably decided to retreat when he was notified of our arrival.''

Jaune had to agree but did that mean they had come in time or had Adam already done what he had wanted to do?

Seconds later Jaune got his answer and he had to stop himself for screaming in desperation, in the middle of a big room Ruby, Blake, Weiss and Yang were lying on the ground unmoving. Kneeling beside them was a heavily wounded Qrow desperately trying to stop the worst of the bleeding. Ren quickly reacted, once again touching Jaune's shoulder and calming him down.

''You need to help them, quick.''

This shook Jaune out of his shock and he quickly ran towards the downed bodies of his friends, the two medics of the soldiers following him. He noticed that Yang and Weiss looked to be the most injured and kneeled beside them, laying one of his hands on each of them and letting his Aura flow while the medics quickly began to work on Blake and Ruby.

Seeing Weisse's wounds slowly closing he sighed in relive, he made it, he could save them, they were fi... why was his aura only flowing into Weiss? Desperately looking around he found Qrows gaze, empty eyes staring back into his own, no, this could not be, this had to be some bad dream, this just couldn't be real, Yang couldn't be dead. But no matter how hard he tried, Yang's wounds would not close, her body lying still on the ground. She almost looked peaceful, if it wasn't for the big slash across her chest, almost cutting down to the bone.

**''ADAM!''**

Jaune had never hated anyone as much as he did that man, no this animal, in this very moment. The only one even coming close to this had been Cinder. He would find him and he would make him pay and if it was the last thing he would ever do and that was a promise.

And an Arc never went back on his word.

Flashback end

Jaune had finally stopped speaking but Jasper was couldn't say anything, he did not know what. Suddenly Weiss started to speak, her voice filled with regret. Jaune was surprised at that, she had never told him what had happened to them herself, she hadn't been able to bring herself to.

''It was a trap from the very beginning, we were completely caught off guard, we fought back with everything we had but it was not enough. I was the first to be cut down, Adam probably feared my power, and I quickly lost my conciseness, I can't say what happened after that, I do not even know if Yang died instantly or if she had time for last words.

She needed to know, it was only right.

''She had, Ruby later told me.''

Hearing the pain in his voice Weiss nodded at him in understanding, now was not the time to rip open yet another wound.

Finally, Jasper spoke up again, looking at his father he asked the question that was on his mind.

''Did you? Make Adam pay I mean.''

Hearing his sons question a small amount of satisfaction filled Jaune's voice.

''Yes, or rather we did, Ruby and I, she killed him with his own sword just as he was about to end me, the man was a monster but he was also as strong as one, the world is better of without him.''

The cold tone in which his father spoke the last part of it surprised Jasper, he had almost never heard this tone of him. After this, they sat in silence for a long time until Jaune decided to speak up wanting to get rid of the sad atmosphere that had enveloped them.

''Well then, my story is over, time for yours. How do you find Beacon, what friends did you make, can you keep up with classes?''

Thankful for his father's switch of topic Jasper quickly answered, he had almost never called his parents during his stay at Beacon after all, he would have a lot of stories to tell.

''Well, it all started when...''

.

.

.

**Well folks, that was it for this chapter. I am honestly not sure about the outro of it but I was not sure how else to end it. If anyone has any suggestion I would be glad to hear them. I must say that this chapter was a good deal harder to write than the others I did as of now. Especially the romance part I am kinda unsure about because it coming over properly is necessary for the chapter to work. As always any reviews are welcome, even harsh critic. When someone criticizes anything about this chapter explains his reasons then I will do my best to correct any mistakes I have made.**

**This chapter has not been beta read yet**


	4. To prove my worth

**Well, this is a present chapter again. I figured that after such a rather long (in comparison to my other chapters), flashback chapter I should show a bit more of the present time. I fear that this time the chapter is going to be rather short. But I assure you that the next chapter will be longer again (not sure when it will come tough.)**

**.**

**.**

**.**

PoV Jasper

.

.

''Absolutely not.''

Jasper had expected this answer but he was not ready to give up so quickly.

''Please father, I know that I can do it. You know how good I am, you trained me yourself.''

But his Father's stern gaze did not waver. ''Yes, good at killing Grim but this is not about Grim, we are talking about other Humans here.''

''I can fight those as well, quite well in fact. Just let me show it.''

He would show him that he could do it, he would make his father proud.

''That is not the issue here, do you even know what this mission is going to be about?''

He made sure to recall all he had been able to figure out.

It would not do if his father thought that he didn't have a clue of what was going on.

''You are going out to destroy a terrorist cell. A bunch of Grimm worshiping cultists who sabotaged some big project, right?''

He could see his father nod, good, he had gotten it right.

''That is correct. They are cultists who have little care for their own well being. They are extremely dangerous and not something a hunter still in training should go up against if it can be prevented.''

Did his father think he could not do it?

He knew he could, he would just need a chance to prove it to him. ''Please father, I can do it. Let me demonstrate it to you.''

But his father just shook his head again. ''I know that you are strong but you are not ready for something like this yet. Why do you want to come along so desperately anyway? You have vacation right now, enjoy your free time.''

He wanted to tell him but held back, it would look childish.

''Please just let me come along, I promise to be careful.''

But his father's conviction did not waver.

''No, I have made my decision. You will not come along on the mission and that is final. Look, I am not angry at you or anything but that is simply still over your head, okay?''

Jasper could only nod sadly at this. He knew that his father only wanted to protect him, he just wanted to show that he did not need the protection.

.

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PoV Weiss

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.

Weiss had just returned from making sure that Scolius was asleep when she could hear Jaune and Jasper argue with each other.

Not wanting to interrupt them she decided to listen in while staying out of sight. After their argument had concluded she decided that she would need to speak to Jaune who obviously didn't understand their son's behavior.

And it seemed like Jasper did not feel like explaining either.

After their son had left for his room she turned around the corner.

''Shouldn't it be clear to you why he acts that way?''

Jaune looked surprised at suddenly seeing her appear in his view. ''What do you mean by that?''

''He wants to prove himself.''

But Jaune still didn't seem to understand the whole situation.

''But why? There is no need for him to prove himself.''

''Maybe, but he is still a teenager Jaune. Do you remember when we were that old?''

She saw an amused grin appear on Jaunes face.

''Of course I do, Snow angel.''

This caught her off guard, it had been quite some time since he had called her that. Contrary to her younger selfs opinion, she didn't mind it at all anymore, but she would be damned before telling him that.

From the look she could see on his face he may already know.

''Shush you. I was talking about how we all acted, especially you. Do you still remember why you acted this way?''

Jaune took a bit of time before answering.

''Well, I wanted to be a Hero, you know, prove that I wasn't just some loser. I mean, I always grew up with those stories of my ancestors, so I felt like I had to show that I could be just as great as they were.''

''There you have to it, he is the same, he just wants to prove himself.''

But this only made Jaune look confused at her. ''But why? He has nothing to prove. He is different from me. Where I was lacking skills he is already a good huntsman. There is no reason at all for him to feel that way.''

But Weiss was sure that she was right.

''Really? Just look at his parents. Me, Head of the probably most influential family in all of Remnant. You, a great war hero, same as Ruby. He just wants to prove to you that he can live up to all of that.''

Now Jaune seemed to understand.

''Was that why he was so desperate to come along on my next mission? Because he wanted to prove something to me? But why doesn't he try the same with you then?''

Weiss sighed, sometimes he really was still as obvious as he had been all this time ago.

''Do you remember the talk we had with him, about Ruby?''

''Of course I do, but what does that have to do with this?''

''It's because you are his real father.''

She could see that he wanted to speak, so she held her hand up to show him that she wasn't finished yet.

''I do not mean it like that. Obviously I see him as my son, you know that. And I know that he also sees me as his mother, but that doesn't mean that he forgot that Ruby existed. And I wouldn't want him to either.''

''And not only that, you are the kind of person he is trying to be, a great hero and warrior that is not afraid of anything.''

Now she could see him raise his eyebrow.

''You are stronger than me.''

Hearing him say that Weiss smirked, she was proud of her skills.

''That doesn't matter. There is more to being a Hero than just being strong. I never lead anyone into battle during the war, you did.''

Jaune didn't seem to agree with her. ''But that was only because James helped me, he taught me how to properly do that.''

It was as if he wanted to hear her point it out to him.

''But you learned didn't you? They are not telling grand stories of what I did during the war. They are telling of James, of Ozpin, of Ruby, of you. He probably is scared that he can't live up to that image, that you would be disappointed.''

''How could I be disappointed? Look at how good he is. Ozpin told me, he and a few other students managed to kill a deathstalker during initiation.''

''We killed one as well... and a Nevermore.''

At her words, Weiss could hear Jaune chuckle. ''This is not a competition Weiss.''

She gave a slight huff, he obviously didn't understand that this was a matter of pride. ''But if it was we would have won.''

Still, an amused smile on his lips Jaune continued the conversation. ''The point is that he is already a good hunter. How could he think that I do not see him as good enough when he is at the top of his classes when at his age I was-''

''Writing bad songs?''

''... Trying to catch up with you guys.''

She waited for him to show approval of her joke but it never came. Damn him, she knew that she was funny. Still, she should probably get back on topic.

''That doesn't matter now. Do you really think anyone still cares about how lacking your skills were back then? If you hadn't told him he probably wouldn't even have assumed that it was that way. And that probably made you seem even more impressive in his eyes, how much you were able to improve when you tried.''

But Jaune just shook his head.

''I improved so much because I had to. With everything that was going on, I couldn't afford not to. But the times have changed. That is exactly what we fought for, what we are still fighting for. There is no great crisis that will force him to grow up quicker, he should just enjoy his time at Beacon.''

''Then tell him that. I know that you think that it is obvious but to him it isn't. Tell him why you act like you do and make it clear to him how you feel.''

Jaune seemed to think about it for a bit before finally smiling at her.

''You are right, I just need to talk with him and make my intentions clear... you are enjoying this, aren't you?''

She couldn't help but continue smiling smugly at him, she loved being right after all.

Jaune just shook his head good naturedly. ''Well, I should take off, I have a talk to have.''

At this it was her turn to raise her eyebrow. ''Did you forget how late we have?''

Jaune looked sheepish, it seemed he really had.

''He probably went to sleep after he went into his room. Don't worry, this can wait until tomorrow''

Seeing him nod she continued.

''We should probably make our way to the bed as well.''

But he just waved her off. ''You go, I am not tired yet.''

A smirk made its way on her face. ''Neither am I.''

Jaune just looked confused at her until it finally clicked.

''Oh, right, of course, the bed it is.''

And with those words he swept her off her feet and carried her to their bedroom.

Sure, their son's problems were an important matter to her but now it was her turn to enjoy Jaunes attention.

And she would make sure that this part of the evening would be a lot more enjoyable for the both of them.

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**Well, that was it. Like I said at the start, this time the chapter is rather short (the shortest chapter in this fic actually) but I didn't really want to draw this stuff out. After all those problems are supposed to be just normal problems and making them really hard to solve would make them appear much more serious then they are supposed to be. But like I said, the next chapter is going to be longer again. I am not sure yet though if it will be another flashback chapter or one set during the present of this fic.**

**Lastly about Scolius. As you probably already guessed he is the brother Jasper mentioned in chapter 1. **

**As always every review is welcome, as is critic.**

**This chapter has been beta read by ****Murphy Sl4w.**


	5. A beautiful night

**Disclaimer: Obviously I do not own Rwby**

**Welcome to a new chapter. This time the chapter will be fully written from Jaspers Pov but it won't focus on him. Instead, this chapter will have Ozpin as a focus. After all, I did make clear that he was still around so I figured that I should show a bit more about him. I will do so with other characters like Ren, Nora, and Cardin (just like the story of how Jaune lost his leg) in later chapters as well.**

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Beacon at night was truly a wonderful sight. That is what Jasper thought while he took his slow stroll along the school grounds. Technically he wasn't supposed to be out so late at night but what the teachers didn't know wouldn't make them give him detention... again. When he walked past the statue in the front yard he could suddenly another figure standing right in front of it, Ozpin.

''Fuck.''

He needed to get quickly away from here before Ozpin discovered him.

''I know that you are here.''

So much for that, slowly he made his way over to Ozpin.

''How did you notice me?''

Ozpin took a quick look at which student it was he had caught, before giving a slight chuckle.

''When not trying to get noticed it helps to stay silent.''

''You heard that?''

Another chuckle.

''I am a man of many talents, mister Schnee.''

Jasper let out a sigh.

''I suppose I can't convince you to just let me go?''

Ozpin looked down at him for a short while before finally giving a kind smile.

''Well, I guess I still owe you one from that thing with the photo.''

Right, the photo, awkward.

''Ehm right, anyways, have a nice night professor.''

''And to you.''

Jasper wanted to go, he really wanted to but his curiosity just didn't allow him.

''If you allow me one more question?''

Ozpin nodded.

''Certainly.''

''Why are you out here?''

Ozpin stayed silent for almost half a minute, it looked like he had some internal struggle. Finally he spoke up again.

''Do you know who this statue shows?''

Jasper nodded, of course he knew.

''That is Pyrrah Nikos, right? She was dads partner and when Beacon fell she heroicly stayed behind to stop the ones responsible but died in the end. After Beacon was rebuilt they made a statue of her to honor that sacrifice.''

''Did your father tell you about her?''

''Just a bit. Most of what I know about her I know from uncle Ren and aunt Nora but I know that dad knows that they tell me.

Ozpin took one more careful look at him.

''Did they also tell you that it was my fault she died?''

That was news to him, no one had ever told him anything like that.

''How do you mean that, sir?''

''She wouldn't have stayed were it not for the expectations on her. Expectations I laid upon her. That was the only reason she decided to stay and die.''

''But she saved so many people, because of her hundreds of other could survive. Sure, it was tragic but her death had a purpose.''

Hearing Jasper words Ozpin just let out a sad chuckle.

''Nothing more than dreams and wishful thinking my boy. The truth is that her death was pointless. Beacon had already fallen, there was nothing left to protect, no reason to continue the fight. She died achieving nothing.''

Jasper couldn't believe the words he was hearing.

''But then why do the stories-''

''-speak of how much she achieved? Because that is how stories work, they rarely tell things like they actually happened. And it certainly helps you feel better about her death doesn't it?''

''But that is so wrong.''

''Is it? The people need heroes to look up to after all. No need to burden them with the ugly facets.''

''Does that mean that all the stories about mom and dad are wrong as well?''

''I wouldn't call them wrong exactly. A few things were left out and they were portrayed more flawless then they actually are... were, but for the most part they are true. They are certainly what you would call heroes, definitely more so than me.''

Jasper knew that tone, he had heard it from his father before.

''But weren't you the one leading the fight against Salem? Weren't you chosen by the brothers themselves to save this world?''

The moment he mentioned the brothers he could see Ozpins face twist in disgust.

''Yeah, a savior for the gods. Given the task to kill my own wife for two beings that can't even be bothered to properly look after what they themself have created. Forced to life on forever through taking the lives of others. Truly I have been blessed.''

Okay, this was definitely over his head but now that Ozpin had stopped it did not seem as if he wanted to stop.

''Look at me and tell me, who do you see?''

What the hell was up with that question?

''I see you, headmaster.''

''His name was Oscar. Such a honest boy, he really deserved a better life, a longer one.''

He really didn't like where this was going.

''What do you mean?''

''The gods were not even nice enough to simply make me immortal. They forced me to take over some random person each time I die. Oh, at first it all seemed good, learn to coexist will all different kind of peoples and grow through experiencing life together with them. I was, of course, scared to stop being who I was but I decided to face it head-on nonetheless. But that wasn't what happened. My personality was simply too strong for my hosts, gradually they all faded, leaving behind only me with a few more memories. Every day, every hour, his being gradually faded away more and more until he was finally fully gone.''

The silence that followed was heavy. Jasper had no clue how to react to what he had just heard. None of this was ever said in all the stories.

''D-does that mean if you die, that you will, you know...''

''Take over another person?''

Jasper silently nodded.

''Luckily no. Salem is dead, your mother made sure of that. The brothers 'gracefully' decided that humanity deserved to continue living before leaving our world for the last time and freeing me from my curse. This body will be my last.''

''Does it scare you?''

Jasper question managed to surprise Ozpin

''Does what scare me?''

''To die for real. I mean, if you lived for so long can you really accept dying for real?''

''Yes. I know for someone as young as you it might sound strange but with time you grow tired of living. I have lived so many lives, lost so many loved ones, it is time I finally join them.''

Well, that wasn't depressing at all. Jasper wondered if he should maybe tell someone how Ozpin was feeling, maybe his father? Ozpin seemed to be able to read his thoughts, because he followed up with a small smile on his lips.

''Don't worry, I fully plan to make the most out of the years I have left in this body. I simply have no desire to continue on afterward. You parents know that, as do their friends, this is not the first time I am having a talk like that.''

''It isn't?''

''No, a long time ago I had a similar talk with Jaune and Ruby. It was shortly before the final battle against Salem, they were worried about me.''

Jasper gulped, he wasn't sure if his next question was crossing a line.

''Did you still love her? Salem I mean, she was your wife wasn't she, even if she turned evil.''

''... I did, still do. You must understand that there is more to a story than just black and white. She wasn't evil, she was just fed up with the gods, she wanted them to pay for their actions.''

''And you don't?''

''I'd be lying if I said yes. I am not sure if they just thought us as worthless or if they truly didn't know better. But that is all just speculation and doesn't change what they did.''

''Then why did you fight against her?''

Ozpin let out a tired sigh.

''At first I didn't. But what happened left its marks on us and she was not able to take it, something in her broke. She stopped caring about how humanity would end up as long as she just managed to kill the gods. I simply couldn't allow that, no matter how much it pained me to stand against her.''

Suddenly Ozpin looked as if he suddenly remembered something important.

''That is right, you asked why I was out here, didn't you?''

That took Jasper by surprise.

''I mean, I guess that I did ask that.''

''To offer a prayer to those that died.''

Jasper once again felt uncomfortable.

''I see... that is very nice of you.''

Suddenly Ozpin started to laugh, it did sound amused.

''Forgive me, you probably didn't want to hear an old mans sob story didn't you?''

Jasper flinched, it was not like he was wrong.

''Don't worry, I can understand you, who wants to listen to some old man rambling. You just reminded me so much of your parents that I felt as if I could tell you. But I won't keep you longer anymore, enjoy the rest of your night.''

''Thank you sir, I will.''

And with those words, Jasper turned around and made his way to the dorms. He was already almost out of hearing range when he opened his mouth again.

''For what it's worth, I think that you are a hero professor and so do my parents.''

And with that, he was gone.

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''For what it's worth, I think that you are a hero professor, and so do my parents.''

Ozpin had not expected Jasper to say any more but he was thankful for the words nonetheless.

''It's worth more to me then you may think my boy.''

He spent a few more minutes in front of the statue to finish his prayers before leaving as well. Casually making his way back to the school he mused about the view that showed itself to him. Beacon truly looked beautiful at night.

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**And that was it for this chapter.**

**I decided to write this chapter because I simply felt that the poor man deserves some closure.**

**Hell, I still do not understand why they all were angry at him in canon. I mean seriously, they just learned what he all had to go through and get angry because why exactly? Because he didn't tell them private stuff about his own life they didn't really have any business knowing except if he wanted them to? Or because him not telling them that Salem was immortal because he already experienced people turning away from him and losing hope upon hearing of that fact(not stated but implied to have happened)? They all act as if Ozpin did this big bad thing without ever stating what bad thing he even did and it annoys me.**

**Anyways, that was it for my small rant. I do not really have much more to say about this chapter except that the next one will be another flashback chapter like the third one.**

**As always every review is welcome. Also every kind of tip you might have to improve my writing. I am still a beginner after all and that becomes especially apparent in longer stories like this. I mean, it is also noticeable in my One-shots but longer stories like this make any flaws in the writing more obvious.**

**Also for whoever cares about any of my other stories, I did notice a few mistakes and lines that need to be changed in many of them and will take myself the time to correct that tomorrow. **

**This chapter has not been beta read yet.**


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